Sadly, Social Economy is currently almost absent in formal education for young people. Even though its role of non-formal education is not to be overestimated. It is crucial to educate young people on Social Economy, due to at least a few reasons:
1. Now, while working with young people, too often we can hear that “immigrants come and steal jobs”, or that “some people want to live on welfare”. Education on Social Economy allows young people to see the bigger picture on how the economy and business can:
- include disadvantaged groups (which they currently often described with these negative statements cited above);
- support social objectives (as solidarity).
2. Understanding how socially excluded people can actively engage and contribute to the development of the local community can contribute to spreading attitudes of tolerance, solidarity, and respect for human rights among young people (also concerning people coming from other communities and cultures, as e.g. immigrants).
3. Soon, these young people will be entering the labor market. If they are aware of what Social Economy is (and that such thing even exist!), they will be able to create enterprises and cooperatives, which on the one hand will be the source of their income, and on the other – they will be able to actively reflect their values and help people from disadvantaged groups.
In this context, the main objectives of the training “Social Economy – Social Values, Social Inclusion” are as follows:
- To equip youth workers with knowledge about Social Economy and the possibility of using its mechanisms to meet social goals and objectives.
- To jointly discuss how education on Social Economy can be used for the promotion of important values among young people, such as tolerance and solidarity. And to jointly develop non-formal educational tools to be able to promote it among young people in practice.
- To provide a platform to exchange experiences and learn about good practices in the promotion of Social Economy, especially in the area of inclusion of disadvantaged groups.
